6 Cult Beauty Products I'm Currently Trying

Testing out any type of beauty product is of course, very fun but there is just something that much better about testing out cult products and seeing if they really live up to all the hype that they've received. And I for one can be pretty sceptical and as soon as there is mass hype around one product I tend to switch off as it's so easy to jump on a bandwagon. So new and old here are some cult and hyped up beauty products that I've been giving a try lately...

TOO FACED MILK CHOCOLATE BRONZER*: No, your eyes aren't deceiving you, I'm actually writing about bronzer. Anyone who has followed this blog for years will know I have somewhat a distaste for them. Mostly because I thought I was far too pale for it to look right on my skin and when I did try it out it just seemed to look muddy and weird. After having a very pale bronzer used on me on a couple of occasions and realised with the right product it can look pretty awesome I decided to give this cult item a try as it's a PR sample and was going to go to a new more appreciative home unless I found a way to use it. Gently swept in a traditional 3 shape on the face it adds that little bit of life to the skin which I desperately need sometimes and I can still use blush with it which is a beauty product I'm so smitten with and never skip. I've been using the light/medium shade and I find it deposits just enough of a bronze hue [it's matte] but it's not like woah ok you've got bronzer on and provides somewhat of a sunkissed glow. The formulation isn't anything amazing, it's a matte powder and it's creamy enough but it's not groundbreaking by any means however it's the colour that makes this so good.

TARTE AMAZONIAN CLAY FOUNDATION*: If you hadn't gathered by now I've been having a real moment for full coverage bases and this foundation from Tarte was something that was incredibly hyped up a couple of years ago. The Tarte Amazonian Clay range is something that I've adored for years so there was a good chance I would love this base. It's a satin matte finish that I think is such an awesome option for the Summer months as anything that's glow-inducing is more than likely going to run down your face within seconds. This is unlike the majority of foundations I own as it feels more like a cream upon application [think Laura Mercier Silk Creme consistancy]. In combination with a good brush, it blends in within a matter of seconds. Probably not the most forgiving on an incredibly dry skin but in combination with a hydrating primer this has been giving my skin an absolutely beautiful finish. I tested it out on my birthday where I was out in the sun all day and then on a day where my skin looked absolutely dire. Not only did it stick around all day in the sun without budging or even smearing on the day where I looked absolutely terrible it didn't drag down my complexion at all. So often bases that are fuller coverage can do that and whilst they do cover everything they can also make you look pretty flat. It very much reminds me of the Laura Mercier Silk Creme which is probably my biggest beauty love of all time but it does feel slightly lighter on the complexion.

O.P.I INFINITE SHINE NAIL POLISHES*: A brand that is very much unknown territory to me is O.P.I and considering how much of a sucker I am for a good manicure it's surprising that I've not tested out these cult polishes. The infinite shine polishes sound like everything I like on my nails but I have found that there is an inconsistency with the shades. I tried out the shade 'Reach For The Sky' and 'You Sustain Me'. The first being a really beautiful powdery blue but when I applied it within less than 12 hours I had a chip and then as the day went on the wear got even worse. So I thought it might have been the base and top coat combination I used, but nope the second time I applied it the same thing happened and I was obviously disappointed in such a cult product behaving in this way. I thought I'd try my luck with the mauve [YSM] and that did the exact opposite to what the first polish had done. It stayed put a good 3 days on the nails without chipping and then when it did start to go it was only on the tips which is completely normal for the amount of typing I do. It sucks there this is such a large inconsistency with the results depending on the shade. But apart from the chipping issues, the polishes are incredibly easy to use and you only need two coats to achieve an opaque finish.

MILANI LUMINOSO BLUSH*: I'm not sure there is a US YouTuber out there who hasn't talked about this blush at some point. And from everything I'd seen online, I didn't realise just how peachy it was going to be. Of course, I knew it was a somewhat peachy shade but it's near enough orange. Which is very much unlike anything else I own and use as typically I find those shades clash horribly with my pale skin tone. And it wasn't actually the shade that looked off when I applied this it was the formulation and upon first use, I noticed a lot of fall out and there were peach particles everywhere. Then when applied to the cheek with my usual tool of choice [a stippling brush]. I found it so hard to achieve an even finish and it was quite patchy but as it's so pigmented you can't really blend it out with the brush you're using without adding even more colour. I wanted to love this blush as when I have a little bit of a tan I think it could be wonderful in terms of shade but the formulation is all wrong for me.

ALPHA H LIQUID ROSE GOLD*: I spoke all about this cult product in this my recent collaboration with the Tili Box* and you can tell from that I'm pretty excited about it. It now completely baffles me how I've not tried it until this point because on the surface it's absolutely everything I adore in my skincare. The version that I've been trying has rose in it, which I'm not sure makes a huge difference in terms of results compared to the original but it certainly makes it smell nice. From what I've researched the main reason why this is so good at resurfacing and dealing with texture issues in the skin is due to the glycolic acid. Which you know if you regularly read my beauty content is something that my skin adores and the many bottles of Pixi Glow Tonic I've been through is a testament to that. But there is just something different about Liquid Gold, probably down to the other ingredients it contains as the way this makes my skin feel and then look is absolutely beautiful. The texture of my skin isn't terrible by any means but it could certainly be a little smoother and this does just that, it's so smooth but it doesn't leave my complexion feeling stripped at all. I'm only 6 uses into this and I'm already pretty blown away so I'm excited to see what the long term results will be to using this every other night. Just a note, I do like to follow up this a moisturiser instead of leaving it as a stand-alone treatment as my skin can be a little dehydrated so I want to keep on top of moisture.

TARTELETTE IN BLOOM PALETTE*: Typically eyeshadow palettes don't excite me that much as we know by my recent Anti Haul post but there was something that drew me to the Tartlette In Bloom 2 Eye Palette*. When I got asked if I wanted to try it out I was excited to see how it would perform. Whilst I know the world of Tarte blushes their eye products aren't an area I've delved into and aside from how beautiful this palette is to look at visually it's what inside that counts. When it comes to an eye palette I have to make sure it has a selection of mattes, shimmers and most importantly a dark brown to be used through my brows and this ticks all those boxes. Normally I go for very cool toned shadows and this palette is slightly warmer but I don't find it to be too overbearing against my skin tone. I've been wearing the shades Funny Girl which is a very glittery champagne bronze all over the lid with the shade Sweetheart through the crease which a light dusky pink. They're very buttery in formulation which does mean they do fall out when dipping your brush into them but I don't find that to happen when applying them to the lid. They wear and sit comfortably all day and I didn't find them to crease, however, if you have very oily lids you might want to powder the area and use a primer first as they are so soft that it's no surprise they could easily crease. You get 12 shadows for £36 which works out at £3 a shadow and there aren't any wild card shades in this palette so if it's a colour spectrum you like you could easily use all of them. There are a few one wash wonders as well as a few beautiful pairings and the brush that comes with this is really good, especially the fluffy blending side it makes light work of creating a more dimensional look.